Survivor XJ823

Vulcan B.2A(MRR) XJ823 at Carlisle, 13th February 2012; David Chadwick

This is XJ823 on loan to the Solway Aviation Society at Carlisle Airport. The only complete example of the B.2(MRR) variant that has been preserved, this version was used for maritime reconnaissance. As is common with all Vulcans on exterior display the weather and time haven't been kind to the airframe and items like the thin metal of the jetpipe surrounds have suffered accordingly. By the early 2000s she was looking pretty shabby but thankfully some sustained effort was then put into getting her looking good once more, and a repaint began in 2006, though the shade of grey on the topsides was rather too dark - happily it has since faded nicely and 5 years or so later, she looks spot on!